Three Early Renaissance Artists

Three of the most prominent early Renaissance artists were Ghiberti, Donatello and Botticelli.

Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378 – 1455) is most famous for his work of the twenty-eight bronze door panels on a baptistery in Florence. There was an annual competition in which seven artists competed to complete the work of art required. Ghiberti had fashioned the best, out of all seven bronze depictions of the ‘Sacrifice of Isaac.’ Ghiberti was then engaged to make twenty-eight bronze panels depicting scenes from the New and Old Testament. This took twenty years to complete.

Bronze Panel Depicting the Sacrifice of Isaac

Donatello (1386 – 1466) had been Ghiberti’s assistant in fashioning the twenty-eight bronze panels. However, he is best-known for his statue of David (1440’s), which has strangely feminine qualities.

The famous ‘Birth of Venus’ (1486) painted by the skilled Botticelli (1445 – 1510) is one of the most common paintings of the Renaissance today. Unfortunately, Botticelli was not fully appreciated in his time. Another of his marvelous works is the ‘Madonna of the Pomegranate.’

Madonna of the Pomegranate — BotticelliBirth of Venus — Botticelli

Early Renaissance painting as an art form had developed from the shallow and flat medieval paintings to those of great realism, depth, perspective and preciseness.

These three artists began a revolution of art that would continue with men such as Raphael and Michelangelo, who would shape art to become something never known before.